


Everything You Want

by marsellia_rose



Category: Fringe
Genre: F/M, Gen, OT3, Other, Songfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-09
Updated: 2014-04-09
Packaged: 2018-01-18 19:51:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 924
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1440709
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/marsellia_rose/pseuds/marsellia_rose
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Charlie wondered why Liv couldn't just choose between Lincoln and Frank. Why she instead had to just lead them all along.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Everything You Want

Somewhere there's speaking  
It's already coming in  
Oh and it's rising at the back of your mind  
You never could get it  
Unless you were fed it  
Now you're here and you don't know why 

\----

Charlie couldn’t tell exactly when it happened. First they were partners, then they were partners-with-benefits, and then suddenly Lincoln was Liv’s boy-toy on the side. And Charlie might not have worried, except that it was painfully obvious that Lincoln was completely in love with Liv, and Liv had no intention of leaving Frank.

And then Liv started doing all the little things. Things like ordering Chinese because Lincoln prefers it (even though she doesn’t), and setting alarms when they’re together so he doesn’t have to worry about his arachnids, because otherwise he paranoid that he’ll forget. 

Charlie chalked it up as them being partners. But now he’s beginning to think it’s something else. Maybe love; Lincoln would hope it was love. But Charlie thinks it’s guilt. And he thinks that even Liv hasn’t realized she feels the guilt yet.

\----

But under skinned knees and the skid marks  
Past the places where you used to learn  
You howl and listen  
Listen and wait for the  
Echoes of angels who won't return

\----

Eventually he tells Liv he can’t do this anymore. She seems sad, but she gets it. And there’s another emotion there when he tells her; he’s not sure what it is, but it seemed almost like relief. Or maybe satisfaction. They’re partners, and so they go back to the way they were. And all is well, until Charlie noticing that now she seems to use Lincoln more and more; like she’s trying to fill the hole that Charlie left. And now he feels guilty.

Charlie begins to think that maybe Liv- their Liv- and the other Olivia are nothing alike. Olivia always seemed to be happiest around Lincoln and himself. But Liv- their Liv- only seems happy in the field. When she’s with them, or with Frank, she seems like she’s waiting for something. Searching. And it takes Charlie much too long to figure out what it is. 

\----

He's everything you want  
He's everything you need  
He's everything inside of you  
That you wish you could be  
He says all the right things  
At exactly the right time  
But he means nothing to you  
And you don't know why 

\----

Charlie isn’t sure why Olivia even needs them. Frank should be more than enough. Charlie has only interacted with him a few times, but as far as he can tell, Frank seems like an all-around great guy. He cares about people- genuinely cares- and is completely in love with Liv. 

But clearly something is missing. Charlie actually question Liv about it once, and she just shrugged and laughed it off, saying “He’s great and all, but Lincoln’s fun too.” 

Charlie later realized that she said that because she herself didn’t realize why she needed Lincoln. 

What Charlie doesn’t understand is why she can’t just pick one. Both Lincoln and Frank are great guys; they both should be enough.

\----

You're waiting for someone  
To put you together  
You're waiting for someone to push you away  
There's always another wound to discover  
There's always something more you wish he'd say 

\----

Finally it dawned on Charlie. He’s not sure when, but suddenly it did. Why she was pleased when he finally told her no. Why she kept pushing and pushing and pushing Lincoln, even when he always said yes.

It’s the same reason she slept with Peter on the other side. Why she refused to explain any of it to Frank. Because Frank and Lincoln both seem too good to be true. And Charlie is willing to bet that he seemed that way too; he was willing to sleep with her and comfort her, but he never expected anything.

Once Charlie has figured it out, everything makes sense. She wants someone to be willing to stay with her no matter how bad she is. And that’s the thing about Lincoln. He’ll never, ever leave.

\----

But you'll just sit tight  
And watch it unwind  
It's only what you're asking for  
And you'll be just fine  
With all of your time  
It's only what you're waiting for 

\----

But nothing ever goes the way it was supposed to. So instead of understanding, Frank just leaves. And Lincoln becomes more cold and distant; he tries to act like he never cared, like he never admitted to Liv that he loved her.

And Charlie watches as Liv watches her world crumble around her. As Frank disappears and Lincoln goes over to the other Olivia; the one who doesn’t even remember that Peter exists. Liv lets all this happen, and Charlie knows that she’s accepted that this is all her fault.

\----

Out of the island  
Into the highway  
Past the places where you might have turned  
You never did notice  
But you still hide away  
The anger of angels who won't return 

\----

Then the world shatters, and Lincoln dies.

And then the new Lincoln was just as much in love with her as the old one. Which worried Charlie, of course. Because this Lincoln was so much more innocent.

\----

I am everything you want  
I am everything you need  
I am everything inside of you  
That you wish you could be  
I say all the right things  
At exactly the right time  
But I mean nothing to you and I don't know why  
And I don't know why  
Why  
I don't know

\----

Maybe she’d give this Lincoln a chance.


End file.
